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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29628666">No One Here</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Certifieddisaster/pseuds/Certifieddisaster'>Certifieddisaster</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, Injured Levi, M/M, carring erwin, eruri - Freeform, erwin carrying levi, hurt Levi, levi gets hypothermia, lost levi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:48:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,130</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29628666</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Certifieddisaster/pseuds/Certifieddisaster</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi gets lost outside during a snow storm, Hange and Erwin try to find him before its too late.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith, levi/erwin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>214</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I speed wrote this from 12:30am-2:30am...... enjoy the Levi angst</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This was officially the last time Levi was going to agree to do a “favor” for Hange, this was probably the worst day off of his life. Hange had practically BEGGED Levi to go out and find a specific weed for her in the forest while she finished another one of her experiments for the day; apparently it was too unstable to leave unmonitored for too long. Levi only agreed to go because he didn’t want to be partly responsible for a lab explosion.</p><p>He had been wandering around deep in the forest for hours now, genuinely starting to think that Hange was just being a dick and the weed she wanted didn’t actually exist. Levi lifted his gazed to the sky, realizing that the sun was starting to set, ‘tch, I came out here right after breakfast and the day’s already practically over.’ He thought to himself. Levi sighed and stretched his back a little before turning around and deciding to head back, feeling sore from being hunched over the ground all day.</p><p>The sun had eventually set down to the horizon, painting the sky with a dark orange hue, and Levi was already tired of walking. ‘How fucking far did I walk?’ He thought, he had expected to be out of the forest by now, but all he could see in front of him was more and more trees. He continued to walk until the sun had completely vanished, but he still couldn’t see the end of the forest; and now he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. Levi stopped his pace for a moment and looked around, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness but to no avail. “Damnit”, He hissed out loud. Levi continued to walk forward slowly, taking cautious steps as he went; though he felt helpless as he blindly guided himself. </p><p>Levi’s shuffling footsteps lead him right into the grasp of an exposed root in the forest floor, latching onto him and causing the small captain to fall forward; Levi managed to get his arms out to catch himself, but he felt pain shooting up his leg before he even hit the ground. “Fuck!”, He cursed, his voice slightly muffled by the ground he now laid on. Levi slowly pulled his foot free from the root and moved to sit up, immediately pulling his right leg towards himself to cradle it against his chest. ‘Shitshitshitshitshit’ he thought as his ankle throbbed, every pulse sending shocks of pain all the way up Levi’s leg. His ankle was definitely broken or at least severely fractured.</p><p>Levi sat for a moment, fully taking in his situation. He was alone in the forest, it was completely dark, and now he could barely walk. To make matters even worse, the fall had now confused Levi’s sense of direction, and he had no idea which way to go. Panic was beginning to set in, Levi reached out in front of him for a tree to use as leverage; he slowly pulled himself up to stand and leaned against the tree, putting all of his weight on his left leg. He didn’t know what to do, he lightly tested his right leg by putting a little weight on it, but he immediately regretted it. </p><p>It was getting cold now, Levi could feel that it was starting to snow, but he was not wearing the proper clothing for a storm (since he figured he was going to be back before lunch today). Levi didn’t even bother weighing his options, his only option was to just pick a direction and keep moving, he couldn’t stay out here any longer and just hope that someone comes looking for him. With his luck, Hange probably forgot she had even sent him out.</p><p>~    ~    ~</p><p>Hange stifled a yawn as she brought her head away from her microscope, lifting her arms up in a stretch as she turned to look out the window. “Oh! Is it really nighttime already?!” She spoke through her yawn as she hopped off her work bench. ‘I guess Levi gave up on finding that weed for me huh?’ Hange thought to herself, she smiled as she took off her lab coat and headed for the door, ‘I should go bug him about it.’ </p><p>Hange made her way to Levi’s room, not even bothering to knock before opening the door, “Leviiiiii what happened?” she called in a melodic voice, “Was one little plant too much to handle-”. Hange stopped as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, Levi wasn’t in there. In fact, his bed looked completely untouched from when he made it this morning; even the papers on his desk in the corner were still neatly stacked from when he had finished his paperwork the night before.</p><p>“Huh…..” Hange thought for a moment, Levi wasn’t really one for staying up late, let alone be out late. As Hange turned to leave the room, she noticed that one of Levi’s coats was missing from the hanger on the wall. “Well what the hell…..”. She left Levi’s room and only walked a few meters down the hallway, knocking on the door to Erwin’s room; she knew he would still be up working.</p><p>Hange waited, but as she expected Erwin opened the door only a few moments later, still fully dressed in his daytime clothes. “Hange?” He looked confused at the woman in front of him, “It’s very late, is there something I can help you with?”. Hange wanted to laugh at his use of the word ‘late’, considering the commander himself was still in full-out work mode, but she decided to just get right to the point.</p><p>“Yeah actually,” She spoke almost hesitantly, craning her neck to peer over Erwin’s shoulder at this desk, “Is Levi with you?”. </p><p>Erwin just continued to look confused, “No, Levi isn’t here”, he said, “I actually don’t think I’ve seen him all day.”</p><p>Hange was really beginning to worry now, did Levi even come back from looking for that weed for her? She completely forgot she was still standing in front of the commander until he spoke to her again, “Is something wrong Hange?” he asked, seeing Hange’s visible concern, “Why are you looking for Levi?”.</p><p>Hange swallowed and looked up at Erwin, now realizing what could quite possibly be happening right now, “I think we need to go look for Levi sir,” she spoke quickly, “I sent him out to look for a plant for me this morning, just after breakfast, and I’m afraid he hasn’t come back.”</p><p>Erwin’s eyes widened, he immediately walked back over to his desk and grabbed his winter jacket before following Hange out of his room and down the hallway, “Where did he go?”. The two soldiers hurried down the hallway, but Hange swerved and walked back into Levi’s room once again, “I told him to just go and look in the forest that’s attached to the training grounds.”. Hange turned into the room and grabbed the other, much heavier coat that Levi had hanging, “We need to hurry sir, or Levi’s going to freeze to death out there.”.</p><p>Hange handed the small coat to Erwin as they both headed out into the night.</p><p>~    ~    ~ </p><p>The cold was beginning to get to Levi, what had started as a light snowfall had now turned into a full-blown blizzard that made the small man’s joints ache with every step. He had managed to fumble around for a stick big enough to utilize as a cane, but every light step on his right leg was still agony; but he knew he had to keep moving.</p><p>Levi’s throat and chest ached as he breathed through the pain, allowing the nights frigid air into his body. His fingers and toes had gone numb about an hour ago, and his face felt like it was covered in tiny needles. Despite being cold, his whole body now felt like it was on fire.</p><p>The pace at which Levi trudged along was only getting slower by the minute as his body felt like it was being frozen stiff, his skin almost feeling like it was made of cement and Levi now had to force himself to take each step. “Come on”, he whispered to himself, desperately willing his body to keep moving “Come on, I’ve got to be close by now, keep going”. There was no doubt that Levi was a strong man, both physically and mentally, but there was only so much a person could do against natures will. Levi pushed himself to take another step before his legs buckled underneath him, causing him to cry out as his bad ankle hit the ground once again.</p><p>Levi panted and tried to catch his breath, he could only think about getting up again and continuing to walk home, but his body would no longer respond to him. He grimaced as his whole body felt like he had been set on fire, a tear rolled out of the corner of Levi’s eye and immediately froze on his cheek. He grunted as he tried to speak again, wanting to call out to anyone who might be near by; “h-help”, he choked out, his voice was quiet and strained, the cold was now taking a tole on his vocal chords as well, “help……. Please…..”. Levi’s eyes began to feel heavy as he called out desperately to an empty forest, a whine escaped his throat as he tried to clear his throat, “he-elp me…….. Erwin…”. Levi’s eyes shut and his head fell to rest on the ground as he unwillingly succumbed to the cold.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Erwin and Hange find Levi, but not in the state that they hoped they would.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Part of this chapter is based off of a fanart that I saw a while ago, idk how to attach pictures here but if I eventually figure it out I'll add it so y'all can see it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Erwin and Hange trudged through the snow as they went deeper into the forest, they each had grabbed a small torch to light their way as they searched through the darkness.</p><p>“Levi!”, Hange called out, praying for any sort of response, “LEVIIIIIIII!”</p><p>“Hange, stop that”, Erwin shushed her, his worry beginning to turn into frustration as he continuously scanned his surroundings, “Levi would have responded by now if he could.”. Hange felt a chill run up her spine as Erwin’s words replayed in her head, ‘if he could’.</p><p>The two soldiers had only been out searching for an hour now, but both of them were already starting to feel the affects of the cold; they didn’t want to imagine the state Levi could be in. Erwin quickened his pace as he clutched Levi’s jacket in his hand, ‘I have to find him’, He thought to himself, ‘I have to. I need him…… He needs me.”. Erwin stumbled a little as his foot got caught on something, Hange quickly grabbed his bicep, preventing him from hitting the ground. “You alright?”, she asked. Erwin shook his foot a little, testing it, “Yeah I’m fine. Would have been bad if I went down though, thanks.”. </p><p>Hange leaned down so her torch lit up the ground, seeing a large tree root sticking out of the surface. Hange lightly whistled, “Maybe I should send Levi out here again some time to clean up the forest floor”. Erwin just raised an eyebrow at the scientist before turning to keep walking, “come on, lets keep going”.</p><p>The wind was beginning to pick up as Erwin continued to frantically search, the air was beginning to make his face sting and he could tell Hange felt the same. ‘Maybe we should go back….’ He thought, ‘I don’t want to put Hange’s life in danger out here…. Maybe I could send out a search party….’, Erwin shook his head, hating that the idea of giving up and leaving Levi out here had even crossed his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think of a way to get out of this situation without hurting anyone he cared about.<br/>“Shit!”, Erwin suddenly tripped again, this time over something much bigger, Hange didn’t grab him in time. “Erwin! Are you okay?!”, Hange said as she shuffled over to where the commander had fallen. Erwin sat up and dusted the snow off of himself, “Yes, I’m fine.”, he pushed himself up to rest on one knee, just as he heard Hange gasp.</p><p>“Oh my god!”, Hange yelled, dropping to her knees, “Oh my god, Levi!”.</p><p>Erwin’s eyes shot open as he raised his torch over where he had tripped; there on the ground, slightly covered in the falling snow, was Levi.</p><p>“Levi!”, Erwin yelled, moving to kneel next to where Levi’s face was pressed against the ground, “Levi can you hear me?!”, he reached out and touched the smaller man’s cheek, “Shit! He feels like ice!”. Levi was pale and his lips had developed a light blue tinge, both his hair and eyebrows were littered with bits of snow and ice. He was very clearly unconscious, but Erwin could see little puffs of fog escaping from between Levi’s lips, “He’s breathing!”.</p><p>Hange grabbed Levi’s coat from Ewin’s hands and stood up, “You carry him, we need to get back NOW!”, Erwin didn’t even hesitate to listen to Hange as he pulled Levi’s frozen body towards himself. Erwin stood up and positioned Levi across his body so that they were chest to chest, with one arm around his back and the other looped around the back of his thighs, he held Levi’s body as tight and close as possible in an attempt to provide some warmth. Hange helped tuck Levi’s extra jacket under Erwin’s arms so it was wrapped around Levi more like a blanket, “Lets go!”.</p><p>Hange and Erwin ran back through the forest, Hange now holding both torches to light the way as Erwin clung onto Levi for dear life. Erwin found himself repeatedly looking down at Levi’s, his face firmly pressed against Erwin’s chest with the hood of his jacket draped over his head, finally shielded from the wind. Erwin pulled Levi upwards on his body so that his face now rested in the crook between Erwin’s neck and shoulder, allowing Erwin to feel Levi’s strained breathing against his skin; reminding him that the man in his arms was still alive.</p><p>It only took them less than half an hour to finally reach the end of the forest, they continued to run across the training grounds until they reached the front doors of the scout building. “I’m taking him to my room.”, Erwin quickly said as they entered the building, “Go grab your medical bag and meet me there, I need to try and warm him up.”. Hange nodded and broke away from Erwin and Levi, sprinting all the way back to her lab.</p><p>Erwin turned and quickly headed down the hallways until he reached his room, he walked inside and closed the door behind him, leaving it unlocked for Hange. He brought Levi over to his bed and carefully laid the man down on top of the blankets, the ice had melted away from Levi’s hair and face, but his lips were still a light blue.</p><p>“okay”, Erwin whispered to himself, trying to think about what he needed to do first. He had seen people get different levels of hypothermia while out on expeditions, the cold weather never stopped them from going, but he had never had to deal with someone who had been left out in a blizzard for hours on end. He decided to removed Levi’s clothes first as they were now sopping wet from the melted snow and ice, getting Levi dried off and wrapped in something warmer would be a good first step.</p><p>Erwin removed Levi’s clothing until he was completely naked, he threw the discarded clothing onto the floor and moved Levi towards the middle of the bed, quickly pulling the top blanket of the bed up and over Levi’s body until he was completely wrapped up like a cocoon. He noticed as he wrapped the blanket around Levi’s legs that his right ankle looked quite battered, but he would let Hange assess that when she returned. Once the blanket was secure around Levi, Erwin moved to sit on the bed against the headboard and pulled Levi into his lap, holding him tightly against his chest again. He ran his hands up and down the blanket around Levi, trying to provide more heat to the bundle in his arms. Erwin ran one of his hands up Levi’s back and neck until it settled in his wet hair, he lightly massaged his fingers against Levi’s scalp as he moved to rest his cheek on top of the man’s head.</p><p>“Levi?”, Erwin spoke quietly, “Levi can you hear me?”. No response. Erwin sighed and held Levi’s body a little tighter as he waited for Hange to come back.</p><p>~    ~    ~</p><p>Hange felt like she couldn’t run fast enough as she made her way back to Erwin’s room, her medical bag swinging from her shoulder as she went. She had grabbed some extra blankets from the supply closet on her way back, assuming Erwin would want to keep Levi in his own room for awhile so he could watch over him. </p><p>She practically burst through the door to Erwin’s room, not bothering to knock this time as she knew she would be excused from any politeness. Hange felt a pang in her heart at the sight in front of her; Erwin was sitting on the bed with Levi in his lap, both of them now had their eyes closed though she knew Erwin was still awake. Only half of Erwin’s face was visible from where it rested in Levi’s hair, and his hand was still absent mindedly carding through the thick strands. He opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly to look at Hange.</p><p>“Do you have all of your equipment?”, he asked, keeping his voice relatively quiet even thought he knew Levi probably wouldn’t wake up if he spoke loudly. Hange nodded and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed, “I brought everything I have to treat someone with hypothermia, along with all my other stuff”. Hange opened her bag and brought out a large rubber sack, “We can fill this with some hot water later and hold it on his back or stomach to keep him warm, and I brought some extra blankets as well.”, Hange began pulling her other items out of the bag, “Once he wakes up I’ll get him some tea or warm broth to drink too”.</p><p>Erwin nodded along as Hange spoke, periodically glancing down at Levi. He had pulled the blanket right up to Levi’s chin, trying to keep him as warm as possible; being bundled up like this made Levi look so young and small. He turned to look at Hange and she continued to riffle through her med bag, “You should take a look at his leg here,” he said, reaching down to pull the blanket away from Levi’s feet, “I think the reason he got stuck out there is due to the state of his ankle.”</p><p>Hange moved to sit closer to the two and held Levi’s leg up by his calf, careful to not poke at his ankle quite yet. She sighed as she looked at the clearly sprained ankle, “He probably got caught on that same root that caught you,” she spoke softly, sadness creeping into her features, “God, he probably tried to force himself to keep going but the pain would have been unbearable…. and he was all alone…”. Erwin placed a hand on Hange’s shoulder, “We can’t change what happened Hange,” he said, putting on his best ‘commander voice’, “We have him now, that’s all that matters.”. Hange nodded and lowered Levi’s leg, gently resting it back over Erwin’s thigh.</p><p>“I’m going to splint and wrap his ankle” she said, grabbing a few rolls of bandages from her bag, “That’s really all I can do for a sprain.”. Erwin nodded, placing his hand under Levi’s calf and raising it up again so Hange had a better angle on the injury. She made quick work of Levi’s ankle, wrapping the injury tightly but gently. She then had Erwin Lower the blanket from around Levi’s arms and chest so see if he had injured himself anywhere else when he fell.</p><p>Luckily, Levi’s only serious injury was his ankle; Hange did find a cut on Levi’s arm mostly likely from hitting the ground, but she just cleaned it and wrapped a bandage around it. Erwin rearranged the blanket back around Levi and held him close again, he could feel Levi’s body was starting to tremble slightly. “He’s shivering”, Erwin looked up at Hange as she put her equipment back into her bag, “He wasn’t doing that before.”.</p><p>Hange leaned forward and rested the back of her hand against Levi’s forehead, then she moved it down to rest against his cheek, “That’s a good sign”, she said, moving her hand back up to brush Levi’s hair back, “it means his body is no longer numb, it can feel and respond to the fact that he’s cold.”. Erwin sighed, relieved that the shaking wasn’t something he should be concerned about. Hange finished putting her supplies away and stood with her bag, leaving the extra blankets and rubber sac on the bed. “You should try and get him into a warm bath.” She said, “I think he’s warmed up enough that the temperature change won’t send him into shock. I’ll give you some privacy while you do that, I’ll go down to the kitchens and get some broth and tea for when he’s done.”. Erwin nodded as Hange turned to leave, “Try and keep his bandages dry, I’ll be back in about an hour.”.</p><p>Erwin watched as Hange left, closing the door behind her. He looked down at Levi again, noticing that his face was beginning to develop some colour again as a light blush crept up his cheeks. The commander shifted himself out from under Levi and laid him down on the bed before turning towards the bathroom. </p><p>Erwin was lucky, as the commander he had his own personal bathroom attached to his room with a nice large tub and running water; Levi often came to Erwin’s room to use his bath after missions, he absolutely hated going to the showers in the barracks with the rest of the filthy soldiers. Erwin didn’t mind when Levi did this; typically Erwin would already be done washing by the time Levi would arrive, so he would go get tea for the two of them to have afterwards while Levi took his turn.</p><p>He turned both the taps and let the water run over his hand until it was a nice warm temperature before plugging the drain. He wanted to make sure the water was exactly how he needed it to be before exposing Levi to it. Erwin walked back into the main room as the tub started to fill, moving to sit on the edge of the bed beside Levi’s still unconscious form. He brought his hand to Levi’s head and gently ran his fingers through the jet-black locks, “I’m so sorry Levi,” Erwin whispered, “I wish I could have gotten to you sooner… but I’m here now, and you’re going to be okay.”. Erwin unwrapped the blanket from around Levi before gently lifting his small, shivering body into his arms, “I’ve got you.”</p><p>Erwin stood from the bed with Levi tucked against his chest and walked towards the bathroom, the bathtub was just over halfway filled now. He shifted Levi to hold him with one arm as he turned off the taps, dipping his hand into the water to test the temperature again. Erwin shifted Levi again so he was now holding him bridal style as he prepared to lower him into the tub, but the commander paused before Levi’s body even touched the surface. ‘The bandages’, he thought, ‘Hange said I need to keep them dry…’ Erwin turned slightly so Levi’s legs and arm would drape over the side of the tub, but the sides of the tub were too tall for that. If he put Levi in the water with his legs lifted so high, his head would just slip under the surface and he would drown. Erwin pondered for a moment as he straightened his back and held Levi close to his chest again.</p><p>Erwin wanted to get Levi in the water before it became cold, but he couldn’t leave him in there alone in a way that wouldn’t cause him harm. He thought of trying to hold Levi up while he sat in the tub, but soon a different idea came to the commander’s mind.</p><p>Without hesitation, Erwin kicked off his shoes that he had yet to abandon and stepped over the rim of the tub, still holding Levi tightly to his chest; then he lowered himself down to sit in the water, positioning Levi to sit across his lap with his legs hanging over the side of the tub. Erwin rested his one hand on Levi’s knee and brought the other around his back, holding Levi’s shoulder to keep the bandage on his upper bicep above the water line. Levi’s head rested on Erwin’s shoulder as the commander leaned against the back of the tub, feeling the fabric of his clothes cling to his skin as they soaked up the water. This was the best option.</p><p>The water was nice and warm, even though Erwin was in the bath fully clothed he couldn’t help but relax a little as he leaned his cheek to rest in Levi’s hair. He lightly rubbed his thumb in small circles over Levi’s knee, sometimes switching to rubbing his hand up and down each of Levi’s shins in an effort to still keep his legs warm. He brought his hand over the edge of the tub and into the water, cupping some into his hand and bring it up to Levi’s chest and neck, letting the water cascade down where it couldn’t quite reach on its own. The hand he had rested on Levi’s shoulder found its way up into Levi’s hair, gently cupping the side of the man’s head. Erwin dropped his other hand to Levi’s hip and cradled the small body in his arms, watching more and more colour creep into Levi’s face as his body absorbed the warmth.</p><p>They sat like this for awhile, Erwin shifted Levi every few minutes so his joints wouldn’t get stiff as they continued to warm up. Erwin moved his hands to shift Levi one more time, planning on getting him out of the bath soon. As Erwin moved Levi so he was laying more towards his back, he heard a whine escape the smaller man’s lips; Erwin froze and stared at Levi’s face as his eyes began to scrunch up, another quiet whimper filling the silence of the room.</p><p>Erwin slid his hand behind Levi’s head, sitting up a little more himself so he could look down at the man in his arms, “Levi?”, he spoke softly, not wanting to startle him. He knew that hypothermia had a tendency of making people confused and disoriented, Levi would probably be quite shocked to find himself naked in a bathtub with his fully clothed commander. “Levi can you hear me?” he tried again.</p><p>Levi continued to shiver and wince in Erwin’s arms for a few moments, unconsciously pressing his face into Erwin’s shoulder as he began to feel the full state of his body. Eventually his eyes cracked open, confused and scared grey irises peering out from behind fluttering eyelids; his half-opened eyes wandered for a moment before landing on Erwin. </p><p>Erwin let Levi collect his thoughts and fully come back to reality before saying anything, not wanting to overwhelm him. Levi just stared at Erwin for a few seconds before opening his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. His vocal cords were still recovering from the strain placed on them earlier, when he had cried out to an empty forest. He looked terrified. Erwin brought his hand around Levi’s head to rest on his cheek, slowly rubbing his thumb across his cheekbone, “sssh”, Erwin quietly shushed him as Levi opened and closed his mouth a few times, attempting to make any sound other than whimpers, Erwin could see the panic settling in the man’s foggy eyes. “Levi, hey.”, Erwin spoke again, leaning his face slightly closer to Levi’s, fairly certain his vision might still be too cloudy to really see who’s in front of him, “look at me, it’s okay. It’s just me here with you, you’re alright.”. </p><p>Levi stared at Erwin intently as he listened to the man speak, “You got caught out in the storm,” the commander explained, trying to help Levi understand what was going on, “Hange and I came and found you, but you’re back home now; you’re safe here with me.”. Levi wanted to talk back, he wanted to ask questions, but his eyes were already beginning to feel heavy again as his previous exhaustion caught back up to him. Erwin continued to run his thumb across Levi’s cheek, watching the terrified expression leave the man’s eyes as he fell back into unconsciousness. He sat there for a moment, just staring down at Levi before deciding now would be a good time to get out of the tub. Next time Levi woke up, it would be much less confusing and much more comforting if he were fully clothed and in bed.</p><p>Erwin slid his arms under Levi’s knees and behind his back, slowly standing up from the water and stepping out of the tub. He twisted his hand under Levi’s knees to grab a towel off the rack and walked back over to the tub, sitting back down on the edge of the porcelain with Levi sitting on his lap. He used the towel to dry Levi off as much as he could before hoisting him into his arms again and bringing him back over to the bed. He gently laid Levi down again and grabbed the blanket he had wrapped Levi in before, this time he just draped it over Levi to keep him covered while he quickly changed out of his own wet clothes, as well as look for something Levi could wear.</p><p>He quickly got out of his soaked uniform and changed into his night clothes, a simple white t-shit and soft black pants. Erwin riffled through his drawers until he found a pair of boxers that were too small for him, they would likely be a comfortable fit for Levi’s slimmer frame. He also settled for one of his thicker long-sleeve shirts for Levi, it would be much too big on him but that just meant it would provide some extra warmth. </p><p>Erwin brought the clothes over to the bed and laid them down; he pulled the blanket back from Levi’s body once again, causing the man to shiver in his sleep. He was very gentle as he got Levi dressed, being extra cautious as he slipped the boxers over Levi’s bad ankle. Once he got the boxers on him, Erwin lifted Levi up so he was leaning forward on his shoulder, making it easier for Erwin to slip the large shirt over Levi’s body. Erwin lowered Levi back down onto the bed and looked him over, deciding to also grab a pair of long pants for him as well. Erwin had to tie the drawstring on the pants as far as it would go to settle on Levi’s small waist, but at least Levi was properly bundled up now.</p><p>Erwin lifted Levi into his arms once again as he pulled all the blankets on the bed back, properly settling Levi so that his head was resting comfortably against the pillows. Once Erwin was sure Levi was in a comfortable position, he pulled all the blankets up over the man’s body, even going as far as to slightly tuck them in around him. After he finished essentially building a blanket mountain on top of Levi’s shivering body, Erwin just sat on the edge of the bed with his hand resting in Levi’s hair. “Everything’s going to be alright now.”, he whispered; half to Levi, and half as a reassurance to himself, “I’m here.”.</p><p>Erwin stood and walked over to his desk, dragging his chair across the floor and back over to his bed, bringing it right up to the edge. He sat down and leaned back as the exhaustion finally started to hit him, it had to be at least 5:00am now. The commander allowed himself to tilt his head back and rest his eyes, listening to the sound of Levi’s breathing as he waited for Hange to come back.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Aye new content. I seriously have no idea where I'm going with this, the plot of every chapter I write is just as much of a mystery to me as it is to you... Isn't that fun. Anyways, enjoy and feel free to comment any thoughts or opinions &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hange shuffled through the hallway back to Erwin’s room with a small tray in her hands, she was able to throw together some chicken broth and some of Levi’s favourite tea while she gave Erwin enough time to get Levi in and out of the bath. The image of Levi’s frozen body in the snow continued to sit adamantly in the back of her mind, ‘this was all my fault.’ She thought to herself as she made it to Erwin’s door, ‘I should have realized he hadn’t come back sooner’.</p><p>She opened Erwin’s bedroom door as she balanced the tray in one hand, she walked in to see Erwin leaning back in a chair next to the bed; there was a noticeable crease in his brow, making his worry quite transparent. She noticed the bed had a large pile of blankets on it, she assumed Levi was under there somewhere. </p><p>“Erwin.” Hange said quietly, not knowing for sure if the commander had fallen asleep in his chair or not; but Erwin opened his eyes almost immediately.</p><p>“Oh, Hange.” Erwin spoke in a low tone as well, not wanting to wake the sleeping man in front of him, “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”.</p><p>Hange gave a small smile to the commander as she walked over to his desk, setting down the tray and grabbing a chair for herself, “Don’t worry about it, I was being quiet on purpose.”. Erwin smiled back as Hange quietly brought another chair up beside Levi’s bed, “Did you get him in the bath?”.</p><p>Erwin nodded, running his hand through his hair, “Yeah, I had him in there for awhile. He woke up while we were in there, but he didn’t stay awake for very long…”. Hange looked at Erwin with a raised eyebrow, “… While ‘we’ were in there?”, she asked; there was a mix of amusement and confusion in her tone, though she held a light smile on her face while she looked at the commander. </p><p>Erwin looked away from Hange’s interrogating gaze, turning his focus back on Levi’s sleeping form, “I uh….” He hesitated, “I couldn’t find a way to put him in the bath that would keep his bandages dry without his head slipping under the water… so I just got in with him, uniform and all.”.</p><p>Hange supressed a giggle as she imagined Erwin sitting in a bathtub in his full uniform, it was even funnier when she imagined him in there with everything on including his 3DMG gear; but she also felt a tug at her heart of how far Erwin was willing to go to take care of Levi right now. Levi was very lucky to have someone like Erwin care about him so much. She decided not tease Erwin about it, understanding that it was the best possible option given the circumstances.</p><p>“How was he when he woke up?”, she asked. Erwin frowned as he remembered the terrified look in Levi’s eyes, “He was scared… dazed...” Erwin spoke somberly, “I think he was mostly just confused as to what was going on, I don’t think he was even able to fully process that I was with him.”.</p><p>Erwin sighed as he shifted his chair closer to the bed, reaching out to rest his hand over Levi’s blanket covered arm, “He tried to talk too, but his vocal cords were too strained to make any noise; which only scared him even more.”. The commander paused for a moment, horrible images flooded into his mind of Levi screaming out for help while he lay immobile on the forest floor, crying out until his throat went raw.</p><p>He felt Hange’s hand meet his back, trying to provide some comfort, but he just continued to look at Levi; the smaller man’s face seemed so peaceful as he slept, Erwin was just thankful he wasn’t in pain.</p><p>“This is all my fault.” Hange spoke after a moment, causing Erwin to sit back so he could look at her properly, “I was too caught up in my work to realize that Levi didn’t come back, I should have gone to check on him sooner. He wouldn’t be like this right now if I had just paid more attention-”. Erwin placed his hand on top of Hange’s, where it now formed a tight fist on her leg. “None of this is anyone’s fault.” Erwin said, guiding Hange to look him in the eye, “It’s not your fault or Levi’s fault. No one could have predicted or prevented the way things played out today, they just happened. It is unfortunate that Levi got caught in this situation, but we just need to pick up the pieces and be here for him while he recovers.”.</p><p>Hange silently nodded as Erwin used his ‘commander voice’ on her, she knew he was right. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding as she stood up to retrieve the small bowl of broth from Erwin’s desk. “We should wake him up”, she said, “I want to try and get some of this broth in him while its still warm. Being warm on the inside is just as helpful as being warm outside when it comes to hypothermia.”.</p><p>Erwin understood that Hange was probably right, but quite possibly the last thing he wanted to do right now was wake Levi up. Levi just looked so calm as he slept all wrapped up in Erwin’s clothes and blankets, Erwin really didn’t want to wake him up and have him become aware of how his body felt. The commander mentally fought off his own trepidations and forced himself to listen to Hange, he knew getting Levi to drink some of the broth would help.</p><p>He stood from his chair and instead moved to sit down on the edge of the bed so he was closer to Levi, Erwin brought his arm around Levi’s body so he could lightly rub circles on his back. “Levi…”, Erwin spoke softly, not wanting to startle Levi, but also because he was still nervous to wake the man, “Levi, hey, wake up buddy.”. He heard a small groan escape Levi’s lips as he slowly rose to consciousness, Erwin ran his hand up Levi’s back until he brought it to lightly cup Levi’s cheek, stroking his thumb back and forth over the soft pale skin. It took a few seconds of Erwin gently speaking to him and stroking his cheek, but Levi eventually cracked open his eyes to look at the man above him.</p><p>“Erw…”, Levi tried to speak, his cracking voice cutting him off in the middle, but Erwin knew what he was trying to say.</p><p>The commander smiled down at Levi, not bothering to move his hand from his cheek just yet, “Yeah Levi, it’s me.”, he said, “Hange’s here too, you’re alright.”.</p><p>Levi’s brow furrowed as he continued to become more awake and aware; he felt cold, but he also felt very comfortable. The last thing he remembered was twisting his ankle out in the forest…. How did he end up in Erwin’s room? He thought for a moment, trying to remember anything he could….. He remembered feeling like he was floating, he had felt so light and warm… Was Erwin there?</p><p>Erwin could sense Levi’s confusion as he tried to recall todays events, he lifted his hand to brush the hair off Levi’s forehead to get his attention, “hey,” he spoke softly, still trying to provide a comforting presence, “it’s alright, I’ll explain everything later, but I’m going to get you sat up so you can eat something first, okay? Do you think you can you do that for me?”. Levi stared up at Erwin through half-lidded eyes, he still felt absolutely exhausted, but he nodded up at his commander.</p><p>Erwin gently brushed Levi’s hair back again before bringing both of his hands under Levi’s armpits, he pulled the younger man up and towards himself so he was leaning on Erwin’s chest. Erwin held Levi to his chest with one arm around his back while he used the other to quickly rearrange the pillows behind Levi, positioning them to help him sit upright. Levi relaxed against Erwin’s chest as he fixed the pillows, Erwin felt so warm that Levi wouldn’t have minded if Erwin just held him like this for a little while longer; unfortunately, Erwin was soon lowering Levi to sit up against the stack of pillows behind him.</p><p>Erwin repositioned himself to sit on the edge of the bed beside Levi’s thighs; he grabbed one of the blankets from the pile that now rested over Levi’s legs and draped it behind Levi instead, wrapping it around the mans still shaking shoulders. “Hange,” Erwin called, “can you bring the broth over here please?”. Hange appeared in Levi’s line of sight with a small steaming bowl in her hands, she handed it to Erwin and looked down at Levi, “Hey Shorty, how’re you feeling?”. Levi just stared at her, not even having enough energy to glare at her for the nickname.</p><p>Levi looked at the bowl in Erwin’s hands, suddenly becoming aware of how hungry he was. The last meal he remembered having was breakfast before Hange came to ask him about finding that plant…. What time was it now? Levi raised his hands to take the bowl and spoon from Erwin, but his hands were shaking and his fingers felt numb. The tip of one of Levi’s fingers lightly brushed the side of the bowl and he immediately pulled back; the bowl felt scorching hot to him, how the hell was Erwin just casually holding it? Both Levi and Erwin looked down at Levi’s hands at the same time, they had a light pink tint to them, and the skin was dry and cracked; some of the cracks were even starting to bleed, but Levi couldn’t feel it. </p><p>Erwin frowned at the state of Levi’s hands and glanced back at Hange, she simply nodded in understanding before moving to grab her medical bag again. Erwin turned back to Levi, “Here,” he said, scooping up some of the broth into the spoon, “I can help you.”. Erwin held the spoon out so it was in front of Levi’s lips. Levi hesitated for a moment, feeling slightly embarrassed about having to be spoon fed by his commander, but he just decided to swallow his pride and opened his mouth. Erwin moved the spoon past Levi’s parted lips and gave him a moment to close his mouth around it before carefully pulling it back out. Erwin noticed that Levi’s lips were also quite dry and cracked, but he was thankful that they were no longer blue.</p><p>Levi only ate about half of the broth before motioning to Erwin that he didn’t want anymore, he was beginning to feel tired again and just wanted to curl up under the mountain of blankets that sat on his lap. Erwin stood and took the bowl back to the tray on his desk; the tea that Hange had also brought was cold by now, Erwin would bring Levi a fresh cup the next time he woke up.</p><p>“Levi,” Hange spoke as she sat down next to Levi’s legs like Erwin had done before, “Let me take a look at your hands there, hun.”. Levi looked at Hange as he lifted his shaking hands towards her, why did she look so sad? Hange gently took Levi’s hands into her own and looked them over, she lightly ran her thumbs over the top of the skin and looked at Levi for any sort of reaction, “Can you feel that?” she asked. Levi watched as Hange continued to rub her thumbs across the tops of his hands, but he barely registered any feeling to it; he shook his head. Hange quietly exhaled through her nose as she lowered Levi’s hands down to rest on top of the blankets.</p><p>Hange turned and reached into her med bag, pulling out some ointment, “This will help with the cracking skin.” She said, grabbing one of Levi’s hands and gently applying it to the worst areas of the skin before moving to do the same on the other hand, “I’ll apply more of this for you later, we’ll keep using it at least until your skin stops cracking.”. Hange set the ointment down on the bedside table before turning back to her bag, looking for something else specific. Levi looked down at the tops of his hands, he didn’t like how greasy they looked because of the ointment, but if it was going to help then he couldn’t really complain.</p><p>Hange riffled around for a few more seconds before pulling out a strange looking pair of gloves. “I’ve been developing these for expeditions”, she said, holding up the gloves so both Levi and Erwin could see, “if you put them on and rub your hands together, they start to warm up on their own.”. She reached out for one of Levi’s hands and tenderly helped him slide the glove on, then she slid the other on. Hange grabbed both of Levi’s hands and helped him hold them palm-to-palm, she slowly started to move Levi’s hands so they were rubbing against each other. “Can you feel them starting to heat up?”, she asked; Levi waited for a second as he watched Hange help him, quickly nodding as he began to feel some warmth building up against his hands.</p><p>Hange stopped rubbing Levi’s hands together and set them back down on the blanket, “okay, they should stay warm like that for a few hours,” she said, “but as your hands start to thaw and the blood starts to flow properly again, it might hurt a bit. You’ll feel tingling in your hands and it might even start to feel like a burning sensation; if you feel like your hands are starting to hurt in the next few hours, get Erwin to help you take the gloves off.”. Levi nodded as Hange explained, he was a little worried about his hands possibly feeling like they’re on fire, but right now he was enjoying the extra warmth coming from the gloves. </p><p>Erwin walked back over to the bed and sat down in his previously abandoned chair; Levi yawned as he turned to look at Erwin through drooping eyes, “Tired?” Erwin asked, giving Levi a small smile. Levi nodded and lifted his arm, attempting to rub the heel of his palm against his tired eyes, only to be met with the fabric of the gloves. Erwin let out a light laugh at the sight, Levi looked like a tired child with the gloves that Hange had given him. “Alright, we’ll let you go back to sleep”, Erwin said, “but I’m going to wake you up again in a couple hours to check on you.”. Levi didn’t like the idea of being woken up again, he just wanted to sleep until he finally felt back to normal, but he knew Erwin wasn’t going to let him do that…. Jerk.</p><p>Hange stood from the bed and moved her med kit to the floor, “I’ll let you get some rest, but I’ll leave this here in case you need anything.”. She turned to look at Levi again, raising a hand to run her fingers through his hair, “…I’m sorry about all of this Levi.”. Levi looked confused, but before he could try and ask Hange what she meant, she was already out of the room.</p><p>Levi stared at the closed door for a moment before turning back to Erwin, giving him a questioning look. Erwin sighed, “She blames herself for what happened to you”, he spoke sadly, “she thinks its her fault for not realizing that you hadn’t come back sooner.”. Levi frowned, he thought it was more his fault for losing track of time and not turning back sooner, Hange had nothing to do with his own decisions.</p><p>Erwin moved to sit on the edge of the bed again, “Come on,” he said, reaching towards Levi and pulling him forward to lean on his chest again, “You need more rest, I can tell you’re tired.”. Levi let his eyes close as he listened to Erwin shuffle the pillows around again, savouring the extra warmth before he would be lowered back down. Erwin was always like a human furnace; sometimes on colder expeditions, Levi would purposely stand closer to Erwin as he could feel heat just radiating off of the man. Eventually he felt Erwin place a hand on the back of his head and another on one of his shoulders, gently pulling Levi away from his chest and laying him back down; Erwin positioned Levi to lay on his side, making it easier for him to curl up for extra warmth. Levi groaned at the lack of contact, but let himself sink into the pillows.</p><p>Erwin pulled the blankets up under Levi’s chin and brushed his hair back once again before shifting back to sit in his chair beside the bed, he watched as Levi curled into the blankets and pulled them as close as he could before closing his eyes. Levi fidgeted for a while, Erwin could tell that Levi was trying to pull the blankets tighter around his body, but that didn’t seem to be working very well for him.</p><p>After a few minutes of fidgeting and twisting, Levi opened his dazed eyes again and looked at Erwin, he looked absolutely desperate. Erwin leaned forward in his chair, “Are you still cold?”, he asked, Levi looked a little embarrassed as he nodded; his body still felt like it was submerged in snow. Erwin moved to stand up from his chair, “Alright, I’ll go see if I can find any more blankets.”. Erwin was about to turn for the door, but before he even had a chance, he felt a small glove covered hand wrap around his wrist. </p><p>“Levi?”, Erwin turned back to the bed and looked down at Levi, the man was refusing to meet his eyes, “Levi, what’s wrong? I thought you needed more blankets?”. Levi still wouldn’t look Erwin in the eye, but he was also yet to let go of the other man’s wrist. Erwin didn’t understand; Levi acknowledged that he was cold, but he wouldn’t let Erwin leave to get more blankets for him?</p><p>The commander continued to look down at Levi’s shaking form, just having his arm out from under the blankets to hold on to Erwin was making him colder. Erwin moved back to sit on the edge of the bed again and gently pried Levi’s hand off of his wrist, tucking it back under the blankets; Levi curled back into himself. Erwin placed his hand on Levi’s arm and ran it up and down, trying to build up some heat while he thought about ways he could provide more warmth for Levi without leaving the room. Levi’s eyes closed again as Erwin rubbed his arm, feeling the building heat caused by the friction.</p><p>“Levi?”, Erwin asked, Levi didn’t bother opening his eyes, “Will you let me light the fireplace?”. Levi just nodded in response; He felt Erwin’s weight leave the bed and listened as the man walk across the room to light a fire. </p><p>Sitting at Erwin’s desk and drinking tea while they listened to the crackling of the fireplace was one of Levi’s favourite ways to relax after an expedition, Erwin always provided a sense of calm for Levi after missions; when Levi had lost his entire squad against the female titan, Erwin had sat with him in silence for hours when they got back, only getting up periodically to bring Levi another cup of tea. </p><p>Erwin finished getting the fire going and moved back to sit beside Levi, moving to rub his hand up and down Levi’s arm again. He smiled as he saw Levi relax into the touch, clearly appreciating the extra warmth; that’s when Erwin had a thought. When Erwin pulled Levi to rest against him so he could fix the pillows, he had noticed how Levi practically melted into his chest; he could see right now that his touch was warming Levi up more than the blankets did when he had initially tucked him in. The number one thing that is recommended when caring for someone with hypothermia: is sharing body heat.</p><p>Erwin mentally punched himself when he came to the realization; Levi probably knew that sharing body heat was the best option, and that’s why he kept Erwin from leaving, but he was too embarrassed to ask his commander to do such a thing. Erwin almost wanted to laugh, if Levi was embarrassed to ask Erwin to help provide warmth for him, then he clearly didn’t remember how Erwin had sat in the bath with him earlier.</p><p>The commander stood from the bed once again, feeling a pang in his heart when Levi cracked open his eyes to look at him; he thought Erwin was going to try and leave again. Levi prepared to grab Erwin’s wrist again, but instead he only watched as Erwin wordlessly lifted the blankets and climbed under the covers next to him. Erwin shuffled down so he was fully laying down next to Levi before turning on his side to face the smaller man, then he simply reached out and pulled Levi into his arms so his head rested against Erwin’s chest; Levi sighed as he immediately felt the warmth of Erwin’s body surround him.</p><p>“Is this okay?”, Erwin spoke quietly into Levi’s hair as he rested his face on top of his head. Levi shifted slightly, pressing himself more into Erwin’s chest, “y-y…es”. Levi’s voice was still strained and quiet, but Erwin heard him loud and clear. </p><p>Levi closed his eyes as Erwin fixed the blankets around the two of them, feeling the taller man hold him tightly to his chest with one hand now cradling the back of his head as he drifted off to sleep. This was the warmest and safest that Levi had ever felt in his entire life.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>More to come soon!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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